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Saturday, February 12, 2011

8 More Big-Ass Record-Breaking Foods

In March 2010, we brought you 15 Big-Ass Record-Breaking Junk Foods. Now, we present you with more food stuffs that go beyond satisfying a craving, they could make you never want to look at food ever again.  In fact, if you ever did finish any of these items on your own you might start to question life’s bigger questions as you slip into the deepest food coma ever. Nonetheless, just seeing some of these magnified staples of ingestion might give you an equally large appetite – reader beware.

Burger


The world’s largest burger was created for a promotional event by Phoenix Seagaia Resort in Japan.  It weighs 300 pounds.  The bun looks a little strange though.  Maybe let America have a shot at this record next time, Japan.

Sandwich


What do you out on the largest sandwich in the world? Ham and cheese.  Peanut butter and jelly would have been too messy.  Plus, PB&J is not a common combo in Mexico where the record is currently held.  The Bimbo bread company made the sandwich 6,991 pounds.  Too bad they did not make a massive bowl of tomato soup to dunk it in.

Omelette


Making the world’s largest omelette is simple. All you need is 110,000 eggs, 80 chefs, and a 30 foot frying pan.  Luckily for the Turkish Egg Producers Association, they had plenty.  To celebrate World Egg Day and promote eggs as a healthy source of food, the association staged the creation of the giant omelette in October, 2010.

Gingerbread House


The holidays have passed but a giant gingerbread house still sounds delicious.  The Mall of America hosted this 20,000 pound gingerbread mansion back in 2006.  Roger Pelcher is to thank for this uniquely American giant – he is the gingerbread artist that designed and produced the life-sized creation.

Wok of Stir-fry


I do not remember ever having anything as good and stir fry when I was eating in my high school lunches in the cafeteria. Let alone so much of it that I could go back for seconds, but high schoolers in Wesvalia, South Africa managed to fry up 2320 pounds of the delicious asian dish in October, 2005.

Chunk of Fudge


This must have been a girl’s idea.  The two male chefs must have had girlfriends or wives that really needed chocolate that week.  With the help of students at Lansing Community College in Michigan chefs William Nicklosovich and “Peppermint” Jim Crosby poured 5,200 pounds of fudge into a custom wooden mold.

Batch of Nachos


The world’s biggest batch of nachos come to us from Melbourne, Australia which is strange because they do not have American football to watch while they eat them.  Someone should do an experiment to see if nachos taste as good while watching rugby.  Either way, it would take a huge team of big dudes to finish off all 2,774 pounds of nachos.  They had to bring in heat lamps to melt all the cheese.  Makes you just want to jump on top of them and roll around.

Bowl of Spaghetti


The last record is only the second American-held record on the list.  What happened to the USA being the land of gluttony and excess?  Next weekend grab all your friends and break a record for America. This massive bowl of America’s favorite pasta was made in Garden Grove, California and contains 13,780 pounds of spaghetti noodles.  Anyone else have that swimming in spaghetti fantasy from when you were a kid?

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Top 10 Internet Plagues

by Jeremy Shimmerman
I am not a Luddite. I recognize that the internet has revolutionized communication, business, commerce, politics, entertainment, culture and many other aspects of our world. But, like any new technology, it too is fraught with problems. This list details the negative consequences of the Internet. I have tried to order them based on severity.

10
Hacking and Data Security
Uplink Map
It is difficult to establish if the internet has caused our confidential data to become more vulnerable. Someone could just as easily steal your mail and banking information from your mailbox, as he or she could hack into your computer through the internet. Nonetheless, with more and more people imputing financial, personal, professional and medical information on line, it seems likely that we are at a greater risk.

9
Privacy
Reasons-Of-Facebook-Privacy-Concerns
Who was that woman you were with in that photo I saw on Facebook? I’ll google her name and see what comes up.
The internet has stripped away a tremendous level of our privacy. Audio recordings, images and texts can be posted and distributed by anyone without much legal recourse, especially if it is posted anonymously. The recent Wikileak’s debacle has shown that no one, no matter how high profile, is protected from the all seeing internet.
Some may say this is a curse while others claim it to be a blessing.

8
Computer Viruses and Worms
Virus
The internet has become a cesspool-like breeding ground for viruses, worms, trojan horses and spyware. These viruses and malware cause unlimited damage to businesses in killing time, utilizing personal and wasting resources.
In 2009, a worm known as Conficker infected the French navy, the UK Ministry of Defence, the Royal navy, the unified armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany, as well as several hospitals and businesses across Europe.
It has been estimated that the most expensive worm to date is MyDoom, that spread in 2004. Some claim that it caused $35 billion in worldwide damage.

7
Online Sexual Predators
An online sexual predator uses social networking websites and chat rooms to target vulnerable, and often underage, individuals. Predators will sometimes use false identification and attempt to lure victims to reveal personal information and to meet them in person.
The NBC show ‘To Catch a Predator’ created and recorded sting operations that lured online predators.

6
Online Addictions
Computer-Addiction-7
Addictions obviously existed before the internet. There are, however, some addictions that have become unique with the creation of the internet. According to the Center for Internet Addiction Recovery website (ironic), studies have shown that an increasing number of people worldwide have become addicted to online activities such as gaming, gambling and browsing.
In 2002, Elizabeth Wooley founded On-Line Gamers Anonymous (OLGA) in response to her son Shawn, who committed suicide while playing the online game EverQuest.




5
Fraud
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Do you want to send me some money to help with my legal battle with the Nigerian government? If I win, there is a multi-billion dollar settlement and you will be handsomely compensated… No…Well, apparently thousands of people worldwide fall victim to internet fraud, losing hundreds of millions of dollars.
There are dozens of variations to these scams all involving the mass distribution of emails. Some emails ask for charitable donations for a tragic event, such as the earthquake in Haiti, while others attempt to link you to counterfeit bank websites (phishing). It is assumed that internet fraud will become a growing industry as the baby-boomers age and we become more reliant on internet money transfers.

4
Misinformation / Propaganda
Truth Exit Sign
From holocaust denial, to outlandish scare tactics, to conspiracy theories, to downright slander, the internet has allowed anyone with a computer to write virtually whatever they want and distribute it to everyone.
While the true impact of misinformation can never be measured, we can look at a few examples to see how powerful a threat this can be. In early 2000, fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger came under attack, when chain emails began circulating that he made a racist comment on ‘Oprah’ and that people should boycott his clothing line. Despite the fact that Hilfiger did not appear on Oprah, or make any such remarks, the emails persisted. In 2007, he appeared on Oprah because the situation had become so dire, to refute the remarks. I am sure this type of misinformation cost his business money, as well as attacked his integrity.

3
Cyber Black Market Trading
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The Cyber-Black Market is a market where illegal items are traded or sold. I know what you might be thinking – pirated music, software, movies, and television shows. Although these do cause financial harm to the entertainment and software industries, I would not necessarily title copyright infringement as a plague.
The Cyber Black Market is much more nefarious then one might expect. Endangered animals, animal remains, human sex trafficking and weapons are all traded online. A 2005 BBC report claimed that items such as live baby chimpanzees, tortoise shells and rhino horns were exchanging hands online. Even popular trading sites such as Craigslist have been avenues for human sex trafficking. Read Malika Saada Saar’s, the executive director of the Rebecca Project for Human Rights’ article ‘Craig, Please Listen to Us’ about the impact on Cyber Black Market victims.

2
Cyber-bullying and harassment
Cyber-Bully-Cyber-Bullying
Chat rooms, message boards, and social networking websites created a new venue for bullies to abuse their victims. The bullies can simply hide behind the veil of their computer screens and even remain anonymous, while tormenting their victims.
Imagine personal secrets, gossip, or slanderous comments that degrade you, being distributed to all of your peers. Or, imagine being bombarded with hateful messages and threats on a daily basis. This is what victims of cyber-bullying and harassment endure.
Cyber-bullying was brought to the media’s international attention when 13 year old American Megan Meier hung herself in her parent’s closet after she was being bullied online. The investigation revealed that Lori Evans, the parent of one of Megan’s former friends, had created a fake MySpace account that had sent the harassing messages to Megan.

1
Child Pornography / Exploitation
Hacker
The abuse and exploitation of children is an abhorrent act that physically and emotionally scars innocent lives. Children, even younger than two years of age, have been horrifically abused for the sick gratification of others. Unfortunately, if there is a demand for this type of material, some people will lower themselves to create the supply.
According to the US Department of Justice, the distribution of child pornography was almost “completely eradicated” in the mid 1980s. Obviously the creation and success of the internet has reversed this position. Today, child pornography is a multi-billion dollar industry and, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, is one of the fastest growing internet industries. In fact, the NCMEC claims that “20% of all pornography on the internet involves children.”
The relative ease of transferring images with digital cameras, the ability to anonymously communicate and exchange money, as well as distribute to mass numbers has caused child pornography to balloon to virtually unstoppable proportions.

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10 Questions To Make You Think

by Bryan Johnson
The world is full of unexplained events and discoveries. People are, naturally, intrigued by unknown occurrences and controversial subjects. The current rise in technological advancement and DNA testing has raised questions in the field of archeology and world history. In many cases, these discoveries have been documented, but information surrounding the artifacts or historical event is hidden behind a wall of mystery. This article will be examining ten historical, theoretical and scientific questions that will make you think. The answers to most of these questions are supported by some scientific research, theory and historical documentation, while others are largely rhetorical. This list is longer than the usual but, as you will see, it really benefits from the extra information.

10
Louis Keesberg
Nugget  154 A Keseberg Donner Party Cannibal-1
The question: What did Louis Keseberg do?
On April 14, 1846, a group of pioneers known as the Donner Party began their voyage to relocate from the U.S. state of Illinois to California. The trip covered 2,500 miles (4,023 kilometers) over the Great Plains, two mountain ranges and the deserts of the Great Basin. The voyage took between four and six months, but the Donner Party was slowed because they decided to follow a new route called Hastings Cutoff. The group was told that Hastings Cutoff was a shortcut, but, in fact, it was a longer and more treacherous path. Ultimately, 87 people made the journey through the cutoff, which crossed Utah’s Wasatch Mountains and the Great Salt Lake Desert. In all, 37 of the pioneers were members of the Reed and Donner families, while German emigrants Louis and Philippine Keseberg were also traveling with the group.
During the voyage, many of the pioneers documented their daily activities. Louis Keseberg was frequently mentioned in these journals. The connotation surrounding his activates was almost always negative. Louis Keseberg was routinely confronted for abusing his wife and children. Keseberg’s behavior was suspicious to the other travelers and he was regularly accused of theft, malingering and murder. In fact, the Donner Party journals are full of animosity, violent events and war.
After intense snow storms struck the Donner Party, it soon became evident that the group was not going to make it over the mountains before winter. To fend off the cold, all of the families built shelters in the area surrounding Truckee Lake and Alder Creek. By December 13, there was 8 feet (2.4 m) of snow. By the middle of January, most of the group’s food was gone and all that remained was dead human bodies. To stay alive, certain members of the Donner Party began to eat each other. Human bodies were labeled with the names of the deceased and the area became a “Cannibal Camp.”
On February 18, a seven-man rescue party scaled Frémont Pass and reached the Donner camps, which by this time were completely buried in snow. “The first two members of the relief party to enter the camp saw Trudeau carrying a human leg. When they made their presence known, he threw it into a hole with other dismembered bodies.” Twenty-three people were chosen and taken by the rescuers, but the pioneers were weak and some died on the long voyage to California. Dozens of people remained at the Truckee Lake and Alder Creek camp sites. One of these individuals was Louis Keseberg. Little is known about what Keseberg did during this time, but claims have been made that he became a predator.
The final rescue party didn’t reach the camp until April 21, 1847. When they arrived, Louis Keseberg was the only survivor. He was surrounded by dismembered bodies, gallons of blood, and had a fresh pot of human flesh over the fire. The men also found George Donner’s pistols, jewelry and $250 in gold in Keseberg’s cabin. The rescue group threatened to lynch Louis Keseberg, but he was ultimately taken to California. Upon return, Keseberg sued Ned Coffeemeyer for slander and for allegedly spreading stories about his deeds at the Donner camps. Keseberg won his case, but was awarded only $1 in damages. This was evidently all the judicial system felt his reputation was worth. During his lifetime, Louis Keseberg saw over ten of his children die in a number of different ways.

9
Juice and Drugs
Grapefruit-Juice-Diet
The question: Why Should You Avoid Grapefruit Juice When Taking Certain Drugs?
Many people don’t realize that grapefruit and grapefruit juice has the potential to negatively interact with many drugs and prescribed medications. This happens because the organic compounds in the grapefruit interfere with the intestinal enzyme cytochrome P450 isoform CYP3A4. This causes either an increasing or decreasing bioavailability. The interaction can be witnessed in a number of therapeutic, medical and recreational drugs. Grapefruit juice does not influence injected drugs, only oral substances that undergo first-pass metabolism by the enzyme.
Some of the most common examples of these drugs are a number of sedatives, slow release drugs, ingested marijuana, Codeine, Valium, Norvasc, Pravachol, Cordarone, Viagra, Zoloft, Allegra, and Lipitor. People should not take large amounts of grapefruit while ingesting these medications. When a physician prescribes a specific dose of a drug to a patient, they are working under the assumption that the person will absorb the drug at a specific rate. This calculation is based on the individual’s body type and weight. This information will inform the physician on how much medication to prescribe.
Grapefruit juice has an influence on the enzymes in your gastrointestinal tract that bring food and oral medications into your body. For this reason, grapefruit juice seems to affect both the rate of the drug coming into your body and how quickly it is removed. The end result can be an overdose or an uneven dosage for your size. Grapefruit extends the half life of some drugs, interfering with the body’s ability to break down the substance. The interaction caused by grapefruit compounds lasts for up to 24 hours and the reaction is greatest when the juice is ingested with the drug.

8
Uncanny Valley
Kokoro-Actroid-1
The question: When will Humans Be Pushed into the Uncanny Valley?
The uncanny valley is a hypothesis regarding the field of robotics and artificial intelligence. The theory holds that when robots, human clones, or computers have characteristics that are similar in appearance to that of humans, it causes a feeling of revulsion and anger. The feeling can be so overwhelming that the person has a need to assault and damage the artificial intelligence. The term has been traced to Ernst Jentsch’s concept of the uncanny, which is a psychological instance where something can be familiar, yet foreign at the same time, resulting in a feeling of it being uncomfortably strange.
For example, if you owned a robot that was human like in appearance and intelligence, the simple fact that it was in your house, staring at you, would make you feel uneasy. Because the uncanny is familiar, yet strange, it often creates cognitive dissonance within the person due to the paradoxical nature of being attracted to, yet repulsed by an object at the same time.
This often leads to an outright rejection of the object. The uncanny valley theory states that as a robot is made more humanlike in its appearance and motion, the emotional response from a human to the robot will become increasingly positive and empathic, until a point is reached and we enter the uncanny valley, beyond which the response quickly becomes that of a strong revulsion. Take a look at the picture of this realistic looking robot and tell me what emotional response you feel.
In many people, it will elicit a strange feeling and reaction. It has been hypothesized that these feelings are due to a biological response that is innate to all humans. As we enter the age of 3D advancement, design studios routinely consider the idea of the uncanny valley. Animation companies follow a set of rules when developing characters, making sure that they do not make them to realistic.

7
Superdollar
100 Dollar Bill
The question: Who is Behind the Superdollar?
The superdollar, or superbill, refers to a very high quality counterfeit United States $100 bill that has been circulating around the world. After investigations by the United States, Great Britain, China and other world powers, certain crime syndicates and federal governments have been suspected and implemented in creating the notes. The U.S. Government believes that the counterfeit one hundred-dollar bills are most likely being produced in North Korea. However, other possible sources include Iran or criminal gangs operating out of China. Some have even suggested the possibility of an American CIA involvement.
It has been determined that high ranking government officials or organized crime organizations are responsible for the notes because they are extremely high quality and practically intractable. In fact, they are called superdollars because the technology used to create the counterfeit bills is more advanced and superior to the original. The notes are said to be made with the highest quality ink and paper. They are designed to recreate the various security features of United States currency, such as the red and blue security fibers, the security thread, and the watermark. The notes are printed using the intaglio and typographic printing processes.
The United States has based its accusations against North Korea on the accounts of North Korean defectors, who allegedly described the operation, and on South Korean intelligence sources. Certain witnesses have claimed that the factory where the notes are printed is located in the city of Pyongsong, North Korea, and is part of Division 39. The United States government has suggested that the superbills are being distributed by North Korean diplomats and international crime syndicates. In 2004, The U.S. prohibited Americans from banking with Banco Delta Asia. Since that time, the United States has regularly threatened North Korea with sanctions over its alleged involvement with the counterfeit operation.
On February 2, 2006, banks in Japan voluntarily enforced sanctions on Banco Delta Asia identical to those imposed by the U.S. Some have estimated that 1 in 10,000 US$100 bills are counterfeit. The American $100 bill is the most counterfeited currency in the world. To fight the abuse, the U.S. government has developed a new $100 bill that is more secure. The new design has a complex printing process and holds a new 3D blue security stripe. The bills were initially set to be released in early 2011, but the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve suffered a major setback when 1.1 billion new one hundred-dollar bills were printed with a flaw. The release of the new $100 bill has been pushed back until the printing problem can be fixed.

6
Mini-Humans
Homo Floresiensis-Wikimedia-Ryan-Somma
The question: Did Miniature Humans Populate Earth 12,000 Years Ago?
In 2003, a team of Australian-Indonesian archaeologists made a remarkable discovery in Liang Bua Cave, which is located on the Island of Flores, in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. The group was searching for evidence of the original human migration when they discovered a collection of unusual hominoid bones and artifacts. Partial skeletons of nine individuals were unearthed, including one complete cranium. These remains have been the subject of intense research and debate as they appear to have human features, but are miniature in size.
This has caused some scientists to claim that the bones represent a species distinct from modern humans. The new species has been labeled Homo floresiensis (nicknamed Hobbit). The hominoid is noted for its small body and brain size and for its relatively recent survival. Recovered alongside the skeletal remains were stone tools from archaeological horizons ranging from 94,000 to 13,000 years ago. Some of the tools are sophisticated stone implements. The artifacts are all of the size considered appropriate for a 1-meter-tall human population.
Archaeologist Mike Morwood and his colleagues have proposed that a variety of features, both primitive and derived, identify these bones as belonging to a new species. A study of the bones and joints of the arm, shoulder and lower limbs concluded that H. floresiensis was more similar to early humans and apes than modern humans. Some less obvious features that might distinguish H. floresiensis from modern Homo sapiens is the form of the teeth, and the lesser angle in the head of the humerus (upper arm bone). Each of these distinguishing examples has been heavily scrutinized by certain members of the scientific community.
Aside from a smaller body size, the overall specimen seems to resemble Homo erectus. Additional features used to argue for the discovery of a new population of previously unidentified hominids include the absence of a chin, the relatively low twist of the arm bones, and the thickness of the creature’s leg bones. The feet of H. floresiensis are unusually flat in relation to the rest of the body. As a result, when walking, the creature would have to bend its knees further back than modern people do. For this reason, it was not able to move very fast.
The species toes have an unusual shape and the big toe is very short. Local geology suggests that a volcanic eruption on the Island of Flores approximately 12,000 years ago could have been responsible for the demise of H. floresiensis, along with other local fauna, including the elephant species Stegodon. In early December of 2004, paleoanthropologist Teuku Jacob removed most of the Hobbit remains from their repository. The priceless artifacts were damaged upon return. The only pelvis was smashed, ultimately destroying details that reveal body shape, gait and evolutionary history.




5
GM Mosquitoes
Aedes-Mosquito-1
The question: Why are Humans Creating and Releasing Genetically Modified Mosquitoes?
Operation Drop Kick was a 1956 U.S. entomological warfare field testing program that modified and deployed the yellow fever mosquito. The goal of the project was to use the mosquito to carry and release a biological warfare agent. The concept was simply to drop a large collection of diseased mosquitoes over a populated area. Operation Drop Kick included a 1956 test in Savannah, Georgia, where uninfected mosquitoes were released in a residential neighborhood, and another 1956 test in Avon Park, Florida, where 600,000 diseased mosquitoes were released on the city.
Between the years 1956-1957, several U.S. Army biological warfare experiments were conducted in the city of Avon Park. In the experiments, Army biological weapon researchers released millions of mosquitoes on the town in order to see if the insects would spread yellow fever and dengue fever. The residents of Avon Park were not notified of the deadly experiments. Hundreds of residents contracted a wide array of illnesses, including fevers, respiratory problems, stillbirths, encephalitis and typhoid. Army researchers pretended to be public health workers, so that they could photograph and perform medical tests on the victims. Several people died as a result of the program.
The experiments in Avon Park were concentrated in low-income neighborhoods, in areas that were predominantly black with newly constructed housing projects. In 1978, a Pentagon document titled, Biological Warfare: Secret Testing & Volunteers revealed that similar experiments were conducted in Key West, Florida. Many people have raised the question of why the U.S. government was playing around with the Dengue fever virus. Dengue fever is an infectious disease that causes a number of symptoms, including severe headaches, a petechial rash and muscle and joint pains. In a small proportion the disease progresses to life-threatening complications. Since the middle of the 1950s, the rates of Dengue fever infection have increased dramatically, with approximately 50-100 million people being infected yearly. The disease has become a global epidemic in more than 110 countries with 2.5 billion people living in areas where it is prevalent.
In 2009, the British biotechnology giant Oxitec announced that they had developed a genetically-modified (GM) mosquito (OX513A) that, apart from a specific chemical antibiotic, is unable to successfully repopulate. After intense media scrutiny, the company gave a statement which indicated that the GM mosquitoes may help fight the spread of dengue fever by reducing or eliminating the wild mosquito population. In 2009, Oxitec released millions of the OX513A test mosquitoes over the Cayman Islands. Many people have questioned the decision to fight the spread of Dengue fever by using more infected mosquitoes. Nobody knows for sure what will happen when the new GM mosquitoes interact with animals and human life, or how the mosquitoes altered genes will disrupt the environment.

4
Flirty Fishing
20051218025923!Gods Whores-Ml560
The question: How did David Berg Convince Women that Flirty Fishing was Acceptable?
In 1968, a man named David Berg developed a new religious movement named the Children of God. The group devoted their time to spreading the message of Jesus’ love and salvation. With the enforcement of strict regulations, David Berg preached about the de-Christianization and decay of moral values in Western society. He viewed the trends towards a New World Order as setting the stage for the rise of the Antichrist. Remarkably, Berg lived in seclusion, communicating with his followers and the public via nearly 3,000 Mo Letters.
In the 1970s, the Children of God began to expand to all areas of the world. David Berg discussed a message of salvation, apocalypticism, and spiritual revolution against the outside world, which the members called the System. The group’s liberal stance on sexuality led to concerns and investigations regarding child abuse. However, the most publicized practice organized by David Berg and the Children of God was named Flirty Fishing. Flirty Fishing is a form of religious prostitution that was practiced by the Children of God from 1974-1987. The term refers to Matthew 4:19 from the New Testament, in which Jesus tells two fishermen that he will make them “fishers of men.”
Cult leader David Berg extrapolated from this that women in his movement should be flirty fishers, with the targeted men being called “fish.” The cult published several documents with instructions for young women. Flirty Fishing was defined as using sex appeal for proselytizing. If masturbation, oral, or penetrative sex ensued, this was termed as “loving sexually” and counted as more brownie points within the group. The Children of God claimed that the purpose of Flirty Fishing was for women to show God’s love to men, to win converts for the group, and to garner material and financial support.
The cult members regularly lived in communes, traveled around the world and spent their time proselytizing rather than earning a regular income. For this reason the financial aspect of Flirty Fishing soon became dominant. The cult used the practice to curry favors with local men of influence such as business men, politicians or police. Women who objected to being what the cult itself blatantly described as “God’s whores” or “hookers for Jesus” were admonished not to “let self and pride enter in.” They were continually reminded that their body didn’t really belong to them as according to 1 Corinthians 6:19–20. Many of the Flirty Fishers had boyfriends or were married, or had children.
In family publications, Flirty Fishers and Escort Services frequently reported that they found their work hard, dangerous and exhausting. The financial benefit of Flirty Fishing quickly led to a regular Escort Servicing (ESing) operation within the cult. The Children of God practiced Flirty Fishing and Escort Servicing from 1974 until 1987, when it was officially abandoned, partially because of the AIDS epidemic. During this time, the women were expected to keep an exact record of their “fruits.” A 1988 statistic showed that more than 223,000 men had been “fished.” The cult generally discouraged birth control and for this reason many of the ladies became pregnant. Among the Children of God organization (today’s Family International), the unwed children were labeled Jesus babies.

3
Skeleton Lake
Roopkund-Skeleton-Lake
The question: Who Died at Skeleton Lake?
One of the greatest mysteries of the Himalayas is a small glacial lake named Roopkund. The lake is located in the Uttarakhand state of India, at an altitude of about 5,029 meters (16,499 feet). The area surrounding the lake is completely uninhabited and the water is a five day treacherous hike from civilization. In 1942, Roopkund gained the name Skeleton Lake when over five hundred human skulls, bones and artifacts were discovered surrounding and inside the ice. These human bones have baffled scientists for decades because historians don’t understand who these people were or what they were doing so high in the mountains. Roopkund was never a historically significant region and no traces of any trade routes to Tibet have been found.
The documentary Skeleton Lake, made by the National Geographic Channel, claimed that Roopkund was the venue for the Garhwali religious festival called Nanda Jaat yatra, which is held every 12 years, but facts supporting this claim are limited. It was originally believed by specialists that the people died from an epidemic, landslide or blizzard, but after an archaeological team examined the site in 2004, it was determined that the skulls contained severe head trauma. Based on this evidence it has been hypothesized that the people died from a sudden hailstorm. It has been suggested that the hailstones were as large as tennis balls, and with no shelter in the open Himalayas, all of the people perished in the storm.
Probably the most remarkable discovery came after scientists conducted DNA tests on the bones, which proved to have a rich source of DNA material. The bodies were dated to AD 850 with a possible mistake up to 30 years. This date was 600 years earlier than initially reported. Remarkably, the experts have found that the dead individuals belonged to two different teams. One team is marked by a shorter stature of the skeletons, while the other human bones are significantly taller. The recorded DNA genetic mutations have caught the attention of the scientific community. It remains unclear exactly who these people were? What they looked like or why they were traveling in this remote area of the Himalayas?

2
Supereruption
Lake Toba-1
The question: How many Humans were Left on Earth after the Toba Supereruption?
Lake Toba is the largest volcanic lake in the world. It is located in the middle of the northern part of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, with a surface elevation of about 900 meters (2,953 ft). Lake Toba is the site of a supervolcanic eruption that occurred 69,000-77,000 years ago. The event was followed by a massive climate change on Earth. The eruption is believed to have had a VEI intensity of 8, and is thought to be the largest explosive eruption anywhere on Earth in the last 25 million years. The eruption took place in Indonesia, but it deposited an ash layer approximately 15 centimeters thick over the entirety of South Asia.
Since the discovery of the catastrophe, a wide range of theories have been studied and proposed hypothesizing on how large the explosion was and how it impacted the human population on Earth. The Toba catastrophe theory is an idea that was developed and has been supported by various anthropologists and archeologists. The theory suggests that the Lake Toba volcanic eruption had a massive global consequence on Earth, killing almost all humans and creating a population bottleneck in Central Eastern Africa and India. The theory holds that the Lake Toba supervolcanic event plunged the planet into a 6-to-10-year volcanic winter, which resulted in the world’s human population being reduced to 10,000 or even a mere 1,000 breeding pairs, creating a noticeable effect in human evolution.
It has been argued that the Toba eruption produced not only a catastrophic volcanic winter but also an additional 1,000 year cooling episode. The Toba event is the most closely studied supereruption in history. In 1993, science journalist Ann Gibbons first suggested a link between the eruption and a bottleneck in human evolution. According to the bottleneck theory, genetic evidence suggests that all humans alive today, despite an apparent variety, are descended from a very small population, perhaps between 1,000 to 10,000 breeding pairs about 70,000 years ago. The theory suggests that the volcanic eruption isolated and eliminated entire groups of people, causing worldwide vegetation destruction and severe drought in the tropical rainforest belt.
The Lake Toba supereruption may have caused modern human races to differentiate abruptly only 70,000 years ago, rather than gradually over one million years. However, this theory is largely debated in the world of archeology. Modern research conducted by archaeologist Michael Petraglia and other scientists has cast major doubt on the Toba catastrophic theory. We do understand that a major human migration occurred during this time in history. Recent analyses of mitochondrial DNA have set the estimate for the migration from Africa at 60,000–70,000 years ago, which is in line with the dating of the Toba eruption. During the subsequent tens of thousands of years, the descendants of these migrants populated Australia, East Asia, Europe and, finally, the Americas.

1
Hitler
Adolf Hitler
The question: How would your Life be Different if Adolf Hitler Died in 1936?
The Second World War changed the landscape of human life on Earth. In January of 1933, the ailing German leader Paul von Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler as the Chancellor of Germany. Paul von Hindenburg passed various legislative acts that suspended German civil liberties and gave Hitler administrative control over the entire country. In 1933, the era of Nazi Germany began and Hitler laid out plans for world conquest. Adolf Hitler was a master of deception and media propaganda. In 1934, he began to display the message “One people, One Germany, One Führer.” Hitler made sure to trick foreign powers into thinking that Germany was a safe place to live. In fact, Adolf Hitler was named the U.S. Time Magazine person of the year in 1938.
During this time in German history, Adolf Hitler took control over the youth. He passed laws that forced German teachers to use Nazi propaganda. German children were taught to despise Jewish people and to show all loyalty to the Third Reich. He organized a program called Hitler’s Youth, which recruited all kids over the age of nine years. Between the years 1936-1938, over 8 million German children took part in Hitler’s Youth oath of allegiance. In 1935, Hitler passed the first laws against the Jewish population. He ordered that all Jewish people were no longer German citizens. Marriage and sexual intercourse between Germans and Jews was outlawed. At this time, Hitler pushed thousands of white Arian German women into pregnancy. He demanded that teenage girls attend Nuremberg rally camps, where they had sexual intercourse with boys and became pregnant. In 1936, nine hundred girls came home from the Nuremberg rally pregnant. Unwed mothers were knows as the Führer’s brides.
In 1938, Hitler annexed Austria under Nazi rule. This was accomplished because Mussolini’s Fascist Italy made an alliance with the Third Reich and no longer was protecting Austria. Many people welcomed Hitler into Austria, but within days of the move, 70,000 Austrians were sent to concentration camps. During the Second World War German armies occupied most of Europe. Nazi forces defeated France, took Norway, invaded Yugoslavia and Greece and occupied much of the European portion of the Soviet Union. Germany also forged alliances with Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and, later, Finland, and collaborated with individuals in several other nations.
Hitler’s decision to launch Operation Barbarossa and attack the Soviet Union turned the tide of war. Had Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin remained in alliance how would your life be different today? Would the United States nuclear technology have been used in the European Theatre of World War II? How much influence could one man, Adolf Hitler, really have on the rise of the Third Reich in Germany? All of these questions should be considered when examining your ancestry and this dark time in human history.

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Top 10 Hollywood Creative Kills

by David Hopkins
Many couples worldwide are wanting to increase the probability of bearing a baby of a particular gender they want. Some couples have even had four or five sons or daughters, when all they wanted was a child of the opposite gender. There are a few methods out there to help give them the son or daughter of their dreams. Lets discuss some of the techniques parents have tried, to help give them the boy or girl they so wanted to complete their family. Nonetheless, parents, of course, need to love whatever they get, all the same.

10
Chinese Gender Chart
Chinese Gender Chart-1
I have put this at the top of the list because most people, in the public or scientific community, just don’t believe this method works. Nonetheless, companies claim that this is an amazing method with 99% accuracy and was found in an ancient tomb. Earth, air, fire and water within the spirits of the parents to be are believed to influence their luck and, therefore, give them a baby of the gender they want. However, surveys have shown the success rate to be a mere 50%, therefore showing this “method” really doesn’t work at all.

9
Dr. Landrum Shettles method
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This method has some scientific merit, but not a lot. Shettles claims an 80% for couples wanting a boy and a 75% success rate for those wanting a girl. However, surveys by inGender.com have shown 60% for a boy and 65% for a girl. Shettles theory is based on timing intercourse with ovulation. If the parents want a boy, they are to try for a baby as close to the female’s ovulation as possible. If they want a girl, the are to try 3 or 4 days before ovulation. Shettles theorizes his method works because the father’s gamete bearing an x chromosome (girl) is larger and slower, but lives longer, whereas the father’s gamete bearing a y chromosome (boy) is smaller and faster, but has a shorter life.

8
Diet Method
Fruit Diet
The diet method has received some fairly positive reviews. Scientists believe that the woman’s diet influences the PH of her reproductive tract. Y chromosome gametes thrive in an alkaline environment, whereas x chromosome gametes prefer an acidic environment. If the couple wants a girl they should eat fish, lettuce and drink lots of milk, generally foods rich in calcium. For a boy, they should eat lots of meat, sodium and eggs, a protein-based diet. Surveys have shown success rates of up to 80% and the diet method seems to actually have produced quite a lot of happy parents, but couples are strongly recommended to talk to their doctor before starting such a strict diet, and many believe it’s not very healthy, especially when trying for a baby.

7
O+12 Method
Baby-Girl
Kynzi, an Australian mother, discovered this method as a result of many years of wanting a daughter. She had 6 sons, with 5 of whom she had used the Shettles method in hopes of getting a girl. Finally, she figured that maybe his method just didn’t work and decided to try for a baby AFTER her ovulation. She tried 12 hours after all signs of ovulation had passed and got her girl. Many of her friends tried her method as well and many of them got a daughter. Over 12 years, a 70% success rate has been documented for this method. (Note that this method is only for couples who wish to try for a daughter).

6
The Ericsson Method
Predetermining-The-Sex-Your-Child
Founded by Dr. Ronald Ericsson, this doctor believes that Dr. Shettles had some good points. Ericsson experimented by putting semen in a test tube with water in it and allowing the faster y to swim away from the slower x, thus, effectively creating two samples in the tube. A cell would then be artificially inseminated into the female from the desired sample at either end of the test tube in hopes of giving her her awaited son or daughter. It’s about 70 to 80% effective.




5
Microsort
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Semen is put in a rotator which is allowed to spin. The larger x gametes will spin to the outside keeping the y gametes further inward, thus giving the doctor, (yes this a clinical procedure just like #6), the opportunity to choose from the appropriate part of the rotator desired by the couple; about 70 to 80 percent effectiveness is claimed within the medical community for this method, but it is expensive and costs thousands of dollars per trial.

4
Pre-Implementation Genetic Diagnosis
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Commonly referred to as PGD, this method is extremely controversial and actually illegal in most countries. This is also, by far, THE most expensive gender technique on the market. It costs tens of thousands of dollars per trial and was initially developed as a means of avoiding birth defects. Zygotes are fertilized in a petri dish and allowed to develop for a few days. Then, the doctor removes a single cell from each of them and tests it for an xx pair of chromosomes or an xy pair of chromosomes and inseminates a desired embryo into the mother, allowing the others to die (tantamount to murder many would call it). The embryo is likely to die in the mother, anyway, and it’s possible there won’t even BE any embryos in the dish of the desired gender. The medical community estimates this procedure to have well over a 99% chance of giving the couple the gender baby they want, if an embryo gets implanted and develops full term, but most consider it highly immoral and unnatural. It’s extremely expensive and it’s unlikely for the female to even get pregnant.

3
Smartstork
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An American based company, they claim their product to be highly effective, mostly because they combine many factors and methods, helping the couple conceive their desired gender baby. They believe that the female’s tract and egg follicles alternate their PH and therefore attract different gender gametes at different times. Twins of opposite gender might occur if the PH is neutral or changes or the eggs are released at different times. They also take into account diet, herbal supplements, douching and many other factors to help increase gender probability. They claim that they have had over 5000 customers but only 20 failures reported to them. Personally, I do not believe they are THAT great. I suspect most who “failed” were just nonetheless pleased with what they got and didn’t dare to complain anyway, as any loving parent should.

2
Selnas
C3 Planowanie Plci Dziecka
Dr. Patrick Schoun, in 1985, discovered that x-bearing gametes are slightly negatively charged and y-bearing gametes are slightly positively charged. The egg alternates its electric charge and therefore sometimes attracts female cells and repels male cells and sometimes attracts male cells and repels female cells. Schoun, from many observations in humans and cattle, created a formula based on the female’s chemistry, to determine how her egg would be charged and when. He created a chart of dates for all applying customers for $400 a year. They would then use the chart to try for a son or daughter. Selnas claims an 87% success rate for their method.

1
Jonas
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I thought I would save this for last, probably because it is, by far, the most original method out there. Dr. Eugen Jonas used to be a psychologist, but he was repulsed when Hungary legalized abortion, in 1956. He looked into the female’s reproductive cycle and found the rhythm method did not truly work to avoid pregnancy. He remembered a passage from the Bible stating that a woman is fertile by the moon. He went on to use astrology to determine women’s fertility, child’s health and child’s gender. He claims 98% success for desired gender, healthy child, helping the seemingly infertile conceive and when it’s unlikely for a woman to fall pregnant. Jonas further claims that his method is also the most scientifically tested of all methods and many tens of thousands of couples have been carefully and scientifically monitored to make sure they were following the method with full rigor (including abstinence on his own contraception dates for couples using any of the other 3 categories) and the results (contraception, infertility, healthy child and gender selection) were fully documented. However, many have dismissed his method as too good to be true and still others think Jonas is crazy. However, he and his wife (who share a generally unfavorable blood type) have 11 healthy children, all of which Jonas claims to have planned using his theories.

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Top 10 Sex Demons

Throughout history and all across the world, people have reported sexual contact with all manner of supernatural beings. Many people believe “sex demons” were born out of a need to explain away subjects that were generally considered taboo. More often than not, things such as unexpected pregnancy, abortion and promiscuity were met with anger and persecution. As a result, society came up with a number of mythical creatures, ten of which are listen below.

10
Popobawa
Popobawa
Popobawa (meaning “bat-wing” in Swahili) is said to be a large, bat-like creature with one eye and a very large penis. It is said to stalk the men and women of Zanzibar, Africa, and surrounding islands. It is a shapeshifter, often taking the form of a human or animal. It usually visits households at night, and it doesn’t discriminate against men, women or children, often sodomising an entire household before moving on. Victims are warned by Popobawa to tell others about the attack, or risk it returning.
Popobawa first appeared on the island of Pemba in 1965, and sightings have been reported as recently as 2007. There are several different theories about Popobawa’s origin. Some say it is an angry spirit created by a Sheikh to take vengeance on his neighbours. In 2007, Researcher Benjamin Radford investigated Popobawa and found that its roots are in Islam, the dominant religion of the area. According to Radford, “holding or reciting the Koran is said to keep the Popobawa at bay, much as the Bible is said to dispel Christian demons.”
Others argue (perhaps more realistically) that Popobawa is an articulated social memory of the horrors of slavery. The way in which Popobawa is said to sodomise its victims may also have something to do with the fact that homosexuality is still illegal in Zanzibar.

9
Trauco and La Fiura
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Chiloé, an island off the south of Chile, is said to be home to the Trauco, a sexually potent Dwarf with the power to paralyze women with a look, before having sex with them. The Trauco is described as being ugly and goblin-like, often wearing a hat and suit. His feet are stumps and he communicates through a series of grunts. Some reports suggest the Trauco doesn’t even need to have intercourse with his victims, that he can, in fact, impregnate them with his gaze.
Often, when a single woman on Chiloé falls pregnant people assume the Trauco is the father. In these cases the women are considered blameless as the Trauco is said to be irresistible to women.
El Trauco’s wife, La Fiura, is said to be a grotesquely ugly dwarf with the ability to cast a “sickness spell” against anyone who rejects her sexual advances. Her breath is so foul it can physically scar a human and turn animals lame. Despite her appearance, she is generally irresistible to men and, after having intercourse with them, she drives them insane.

8
Succubus and Incubus
Incubus-Succubus-2
Probably the most well known sex demon, the Succubus is a female demon who takes the form of an attractive seductress in order to seduce men. It is generally believed that the Succubus legend came about as a result of the medieval preoccupation with sin, especially sexual sins of women.
The male version of the Succubus is the Incubus. Like his female counterpart, the Incubus will drain the strength and life energy from his victims. Unlike the Succubus, the Incubus will impregnate his victims with another incubus. The victim will then carry the baby to term, but when she gives birth the baby appears to be stillborn. It will have no pulse and it won’t appear to breath. Then, around the age of seven the child will appear to behave normally, but will usually be very attractive and intelligent. According to some legends, the wizard Merlin is the product of an Incubus father and a human mother. It is also believed by some that the Virgin Mary was de-flowered by an Incubus.
Many believe the Incubi most likely came about as a scapegoat for rape and sexual assault. Both victim and rapist would have most likely found it easier to explain the attack supernaturally rather than confronting the truth.

7
Encantado
Z Bosque Encantado
In Brazil, and the rainforests of the Amazon Basin, the Boto river dolphin was believed to have shapeshifting powers. It could turn into a very charming and beautiful man called Encantado, or “the enchanted one.” Encantado would take women back to the river, retake dolphin form, and impregnate them. Young women of the region were wary of any man wearing a hat because, according to legend, Encantado always wore a hat to cover up his blowhole.
In many parts of Brazil it is considered bad luck to kill Boto river dolphins. If you kill one, or in some cases just look them in the eye, it is said you will suffer nightmares for the rest of your life.

6
Lilu
450Px-Queen Of The Night Babylon
Jewish folklore tells of Lilu, a demon who visits women while they sleep. His feminine counterpart is Lilin. These demons were a particular source of anxiety for mothers because they were known to kidnap children. Ardat Lili was another succubus who would visit men at night to ensure the continuation of her demonic race. The incubus was Irdu Lili, who would visit human women to ensure they would produce his offspring.




5
Liderc
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In the Northern regions of Hungary there was said to live a creature called the Liderc (or ludvérc, lucfir, or ördög depending on the region). It hatches from the first egg of a black hen, and is often said to hide in people’s pockets. It enters its victims homes through the keyhole. Once inside, the Liderc shapeshifts into a human, often taking the form of a dead relative of the intended victim. It rapes its victim, and then makes the house very dirty before departing. Some reports say that Liderc becomes attached to its victims and never leaves. The Liderc can be exorcized by either sealing it inside a tree hollow, or persuading it to perform a near impossible task, such as carrying water with a bucket full of holes. It is common even today for children in Hungary to stomp on eggs taken from a black hen, or leave the eggs on doorsteps to cause mischief.

4
Orang Minyak
Minyak
In the 1960’s a large number of young women were raped in several Malaysian towns. The attacker was described as a naked man, covered from head to toe with oil. Some said that Orang Minyak could appear invisible to non-virgins. Mass panic ensued, and many young women of the region began wearing sweaty, stinky clothes so the Orang Minyak would mistake them for male and leave them be.
Some speculate that the Orang Minyak was, in fact, a regular human criminal, who covered himself with oil to camouflage himself against the night, and to make him especially slippery to catch.
Sightings of the “Oily Man” have continued through the decades, with the last sighting in 2005.

3
Alp
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Originating from Teutonic or German folklore, an Alp is a small, elf-like creature who is said to have climbed onto a sleeping victim’s chest, turned into a fine mist and entered the body through the nostrils, mouth or vagina. Once inside, the Alp had the ability to control its victim’s dreams, creating horrible nightmares. Its victims reported a breathless feeling when they awoke.
This may have been an early explanation for sleep apnea and other sleep disorders.

2
Angels
Nephilim2
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Nephilim were a race of giants who came about as a result of fallen angels having intercourse with human women. Translated from the Hebrew text, “Nephililim” means “fallen ones”. Genesis 6:4 tells us, “Now giants were upon the earth in those days. For after the sons of God went in to the daughters of men, and they brought forth children, these are the mighty men of old, men of renown.”
The story of Nephilim originates with a story of Shemhazau, a high ranking angel who led a group of angels to earth to teach humans to be righteous. Over the centuries many of the angels pined for human women, and eventually mated with them, creating the Nephilim. This unholy union is said to have instilled an inherit wickedness in the Nephilim, making them capable of terrible sin. God was so disgusted by their existence that he ordered the angel Gabriel to ignite a civil war among the Nephilim, which eventually led to their extinction.

1
Aliens
Aliens
A modern-day version of the Incubi myth, there are countless cases of alien abductions, many with sexual undertones. Some reports suggest the use of an invasive anal probe, and others talk of a sexual union with the aliens themselves.
52 year old Jazz singer Pamela Stonebrook claims to have regular sex with a six-foot tall reptilian alien. “My first sexual encounter with an alien was unlike any love-making I’ve experienced before,” Stonebrook claims. “It was so intense and enjoyable and, without wanting to get too graphic, he was so much larger than most men. I remember exactly how I felt when I saw him for the first time. I awoke from my sleep to find myself making love to what appeared to be a Greek god. At first I assumed it was an exceptionally lucid dream. But the sex was very intense and as I closed my eyes I was overwhelmed by how comfortable I felt with this unknown being. The next time I opened my eyes he had transformed into a reptilian entity with scaly, snake-like skin. It was then I realized I was making love to a shape-shifting alien. Sensing I was scared, the reptile whispered, ‘We’ve always been together, we love each other.’ The orgasms were intense. When I tell men about my reptilian experience, they find it difficult.”
There are countless stories involving alien/ human lovemaking. Antonio Villas Boas of Brazil claims that, in 1957, he was abducted by aliens and put in a room with a beautiful, fair-haired woman and forced to mate with her. Howard Menger claimed to have regular sexual liaisons with Marla, a beautiful blond woman from space who claimed to be 500 years old. In the 1970’s, a 19-year-old girl in California claimed to have been gang-raped by six blue-skinned, web-footed humanoids who attacked her after she watched their spaceship land.
Due to the outlandish nature of the claims and the general lack of evidence, most people dismiss such reports. Sadly though, it is likely that many of the people who make such claims, do so as a result of a deep, psychological need.

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